FIG. 1A is a block diagram, according to the Background Art, of a wireless network 100, e.g., a cellular network. FIG. 1B is a block diagram, according to the Background Art, of a cell-site. FIG. 1C is a block diagram, according to the Background Art, of a base station controller (BSC). And FIG. 1C is a block diagram, according to the Background Art, of mobile switching center (MSC).
In FIG. 1A, wireless network 100 includes cells 104 as well as cell-sites (or base transceiver stations (BTSs)) 102. Cells 104 represent the geographical areas of cellular coverage provided by different combinations of cell-sites 102, respectively. For ease of illustration, cells 104 are depicted as hexagons. Cell-sites 102 are located at many (though not necessarily at all) of the corners of cells 104. Also for ease of illustration, only nine instances of cell-site 102 and ten instances of cell 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1A; other quantities of instances of cell-site 102 and other quantities of instances of cell 104, respectively, are contemplated.
In terms of physical components (as illustrated by exploded view 102′ of FIG. 1B), each cell-site 102 includes: one or more instances of a processor 108; memory 110 which itself includes one or more instances of non-volatile memory 112A and one or more instances of volatile memory 112B; one or more instances of a wireless unit 114; and a tower 116 which itself includes one or more instances of an antenna (not illustrated in FIG. 1B) mounted thereon, e.g., a directional antenna. Typically (though not necessarily), the geographic area of a given one of cells 114 represents a combination of areas covered by two or more sectors (not illustrated in FIG. 1A), with each sector being provided by a different one of cell-sites 102, respectively. Typically (though not necessarily), a given one of cell-sites 102 includes at least three instances of wireless unit 114 and at least three instances of an antenna mounted on tower 116 so as to provide cellular coverage of at least three sectors (arranged radially 120 degrees apart) in at least three of cells 104, respectively.
Pairings of an instance of wireless unit 114 and its corresponding instance of an antenna mounted on tower 116 can reflect different and/or the same wireless communication technologies, respectively. For example, such wireless communication technologies include: GSM; CDMA; EVDO, LTE, etc.
Wireless network 100 further includes base station controllers (BSCs) 106 and at least one mobile switching center (MSC) 128. Typically, though not necessarily, an instance of BSC 106 controls multiple cell-sites 102. MSC 128 is typically connected via a backhaul network 140 to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 142 and to the internet 144. Between MSC 128 and PSTN 142, backhaul network 140 can be comprised of wired and/or wireless connections. Similarly, between MSC 128 and internet 144, backhaul network 140 can be comprised of wired and/or wireless connections, and can include routers, etc.
In terms of physical components (as illustrated by exploded view 106′ in FIG. 1C), MSC 128 includes: one or more instances of a processor 130; and memory 132 which itself includes one or more instances of non-volatile memory 134A and one or more instances of volatile memory 134B. Typically, a given instance of MSC 128 not only engages in wired communication, but also communicates wirelessly; accordingly, the given instance of MSC 128 can further include: one or more instances of a wireless unit 136; and a tower 138 which itself includes one or more instances of an antenna (not illustrated in FIG. 1C) mounted thereon, e.g., a directional antenna.
Typically, an instance of MSC 128 is connected to multiple instances of BSC 106. In terms of physical components (as illustrated by exploded view 128′ in FIG. 1D), each MSC 128 includes: one or more instances of a processor 130; and memory 132 which itself includes one or more instances of non-volatile memory 132A and one or more instances of volatile memory 132B. If a given instance of MSC 128 not only engages in wired communication, but also communicates wirelessly, then the given instance of MSC 128 further includes: one or more instances of a wireless unit 136; and a tower 138 which itself includes one or more instances of an antenna (not illustrated in FIG. 1D) mounted thereon, e.g., a directional antenna.
Various tracking units (not illustrated) in wireless network 100 collect tracking data regarding one or more instances of cell-site 100. Such tracking data includes, for example, raw call logs, billing data, operations support systems (OSS) data, business support systems (BSS) data, etc. Also, various performance assessment units (not illustrated) in wireless network 100 assess the performance of cell-sites 102 in terms of one or more key performance indicators (KPIs), respectively. KPIs are examples of metrics that are representative of physical things/phenomena. Such tracking/KPI data can be made available across wireless network 100. In addition to tracking/KPI data, there are other varieties of data (e.g., cashed content, etc.) that are available across wireless network 100. Together, tracking/KPI data and such other varieties of data will be referred to as network-related data.
In terms of LTE, for example, there are KPIs defined for the evaluation of system performance, e.g., the performance of the evolved Radio Access Network (eRAN). Such KPIs can be classified, e.g., into categories based on the measurement targets: accessibility, retainability, mobility, service integrity, utilization, availability, and traffic KPIs.
LTE Accessibility KPIs are indicative of whether services requested by a user can be accessed within specified tolerances in the given operating conditions. Examples of LTE Accessibility KPIs include: RRC Setup Success Rate (Service); RRC Setup Success Rate (Signaling); ERAB Setup Success Rate (e.g., for VoIP call service); ERAB Setup Success Rate (e.g., for all types of calling service); and Call Setup Success Rate.
LTE Retainability KPIs are indicative of the network's capability to retain services requested by a user for a desired duration once the user is connected to the services, e.g., are indicative of whether the system can maintain desired service quality levels. Examples of LTE Retainability KPIs include: Call Drop Rate (e.g., for VoIP); and Service Drop Rate (e.g., for all types of calling service).
LTE Mobility KPIs are indicative of the performance of E-UTRAN mobility, which has a direct effect on customer experience. Examples of LTE Mobility KPIs include: Intra-frequency Handover Out Success Rate; Inter-frequency Handover Out Success Rate; Handover In Success Rate; Inter-RAT (Inter-Radio-Access-Technology) Handover Out Success Rate (LTE to CDMA); Inter-RAT Handover Out Success Rate (LTE to WCDMA); and Inter-RAT Handover Out Success Rate (LTE to GSM).
LTE service integrity KPIs are indicative of the impacts on the service quality provided to the end-user made by the E-UTRAN. Examples of LTE service integrity KPIs include: Service Downlink Average Throughput; Service Uplink Average Throughput; Cell Downlink Average Throughput; Cell Uplink Average Throughput; Cell Downlink Maximum Throughput; and Cell Uplink Maximum Throughput.
LTE Utilization KPIs are indicative of the network's capability to meet the traffic demand and other characteristics, e.g., under specific internal conditions. Examples of LTE Utilization KPIs include: Resource Block Utilizing Rate; and Average CPU Load.
LTE Availability KPIs are indicative of the percentage of time that a cell is available, e.g., the percentage of time that an eNodeB can provide EPS bearer services. An example of an LTE Availability KPIs is Radio Network Unavailability Rate.
LTE Traffic KPIs are indicative of traffic volume on the LTE Radio Access Network (RAN), many of which are classified into the following categories: radio bearers; downlink traffic volume; and uplink traffic volume. Examples of LTE Traffic KPIs in the radio bearers category include: RadioBearers_total; RadioBearers_QCI_1; RadioBearers_QCI_2; RadioBearers_QCI_3; RadioBearers_QCI_4; RadioBearers_QCI_5; RadioBearers_QCI_6; RadioBearers_QCI_7; RadioBearers_QCI_8; and RadioBearers_QCI_9. Examples of LTE Traffic KPIs in the downlink traffic volume category include: DLTrafficVolume_total (total of traffic volume for DRBs); DLTrafficVolume_QCI_1; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_2; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_3; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_4; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_5; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_6; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_7; DLTrafficVolume_QCI_8; and DLTrafficVolume_QCI_9. Examples of LTE Traffic KPIs in the pulling traffic volume category include: ULTrafficVolume_total (total of traffic volume for DRBs); ULTrafficVolume_QCI_1; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_2; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_3; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_4; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_5; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_6; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_7; ULTrafficVolume_QCI_8; and ULTrafficVolume_QCI_9. Additional examples of LTE Traffic KPIs include: Average User Number (e.g., average number of users which has the RRC connection in the cell in a given period); and Maximum User Number (e.g., maximum number of users which has the RRC connection in the cell in a given period).
There are metrics associated with routers which are representative of physical things/phenomena. Examples of such metrics include: Flow capacity; Hop count of a route; Buffer size; Instantaneous queue size; Total time in queue; Mean time in queue; router availability; Packet loss; Average packet loss; Average round-trip latency; Average jitter; Network packet loss; Average network round-trip latency; Network asset efficiency; Number of installed versus utilized ports (e.g., per type); Watts per active port; Average number of retransmissions of network packets per measurement period (e.g., daily); Average throughput; etc.